Vasse man found guilty of rape and assault

The allure of taking meth and cannabis, getting a free ticket to Southbound, and new romance was enough to entice a 28-year old South-West woman to get into a car to Busselton with a man she barely knew.

Tracey (not her real name) had befriended Vasse resident Karl David William Baudoeuf on Facebook some years prior, but thought his name was Pete Bundy – the name he used on his Facebook profile.

They had never met in person – only chatted a few times on social media - when on December 27, 2016 Mr Baudoeuf travelled some 100km to meet Tracey for the first time.

According to Tracey, she thought Mr Baudoeuf was Mr Wonderful.

But some 72 hours later, Tracey fled from Mr Baudoeuf’s home – a donga at the back of his mum’s rural property – with nothing but the clothes on her back, fearing for her life, beaten and scared.

While Mr Baudoeuf was asleep after a three day bender, Tracey had run for her life with a black eye, broken nose, bruising and swelling around her face.

She ran to a neighbour’s house, who let her use a phone to contact a friend she had in Busselton.

The neighbour then drove Tracey to her friend’s house, who was shocked when he saw the extent of her injuries.

“I did not know how bad I looked until I saw his reaction,” she said.

He arranged a lift for Tracey back to her father’s place. But her father wasn’t home and Tracey sought help from a neighbour, who took her to hospital.

What happened during the previous 48-hours, while Tracey was with Mr Baudoeuf, was a matter for the District Court jury in Busselton to decide.

Tracey told the court Mr Baudoeuf had treated her nicely for the first 24 hours. They took drugs together and had consensual sex.

She questioned his integrity when it become apparent he didn’t have tickets to Southbound, which happened about the same time Mr Badouef’s ex-girlfriend rocked up to the donga.

To Tracey, it sounded like the pair were arguing. When she peered out a window and thought she saw the two in a physical altercation, she started to think Mr Baudoeuf was not so wonderful.

It was her first sign of danger.

State prosecutor Sarah Kavanagh told the jury that on December 28, 2016 the second day the pair were together – Mr Baudoeuf started to change.

After Tracey called him a liar, he allegedly headbutted her, held her against her will, threatened her, raped her and stomped on her head, all over the course of the next 48 hours.

In court, Mr Baudoeuf denied the allegations and said Tracey sustained her injuries from a fight with another girl, which occurred at a Siesta Park beach on the night of December 29. He claimed a girl named Bonnie beat Tracey with a stick.

In fact, he denied knowing Tracey at all during a his police interview on January 5, 2017, after police had searched his donga and found the belongings Tracey had left behind when she fled.

The court heard that Mr Baudoeuf had already heard about the rape allegations before police arrived at his property.

The jury found Mr Baudoeuf guilty of charges including deprivation of liberty, two counts of sexual penetration without consent and three counts of assault causing bodily harm.

Judge Vicki Stewart delayed sentencing him so that a psychological report could be prepared. He is due to appear in Perth for sentencing on August 7.